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souvenir wrote:

Bete_Noire wrote:Tonight's airing of Basil Dearden's Victim had the Janus logo preceding it. Guess that puts it into the Criterion "distinct possibilities" category.

It's already out from Home Vision

Didn't stop them from releasing Days of Heaven, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, et al. Besides, didn't Criterion license a bunch of titles from Image?

HVe literally is Criterion Jr. If they've put it out on DVD, that means Criterion passed on it.

With this Saturday's broadcast of Sweet Smell of Success, Rose McGowan's run of co-hosting "The Essentials" will draw to a close. Any guesses who will take over in March? Given the trajectory of the past few years, I wouldn't be surprised if it's Topo Gigio.

fiddlesticks wrote:Topo Gigio.

I would totally watch that. Too bad Señor Wences is dead, because I'd love to see it hosted by Johnny (look left) and Pedro (ask your grandparents).

Turns out those "RKO Lost and Found" DVDs may be the wave of the future.

Perkins Cobb wrote:Turns out those "RKO Lost and Found" DVDs may be the wave of the future.

That would be great news if they weren't DVD-Rs. I think the whole "Rhino Handmade" business model is a good one for niche releases, but only if the quality justifies the asking price. Otherwise, just make the movies available for download.

fiddlesticks wrote:With this Saturday's broadcast of Sweet Smell of Success, Rose McGowan's run of co-hosting "The Essentials" will draw to a close. Any guesses who will take over in March?

Turns out that Alec Baldwin will be the new Essentials co-host. No Topo.

That's good news. Baldwin has good taste in movies (the ones he doesn't appear in, at any rate) and Lord knows he can talk.

Zumpano wrote:Turns out that Alec Baldwin will be the new Essentials co-host. No Topo.

Why not both?

I may have to start watching "The Excuse to Trot Out All the Old Warhorses AGAIN." I like Baldwin.

HarryLong wrote:I may have to start watching "The Excuse to Trot Out All the Old Warhorses AGAIN." I like Baldwin.

They've been doing a little better lately, showing things like Seven Samurai, Woman of the Year, The Spiral Staircase, and A Face in the Crowd. I mean, at least it's not Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and Yankee Doodle Dandy over and over again like it used to be.

fiddlesticks wrote: Why not both?

"You rude little RODENT!!"

I mean, at least it's not Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and Yankee Doodle Dandy over and over again like it used to be.

You're right, of course. Only a year or so back they'd show CASABLANCA (for instance) 2 or 3 times in a month and as one of The Essentials.
They have cut back on the overexposure of certain popular titles. And they have expanded their offerings. Neat, for instance, that they recently ran a Republic serial ... though I wish they were following it up with others. Well, maybe once they get their month-long Oscar-wankfest out of the way ...

A tribute called Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood is going to debut tomorrow at 8:00 PM and repeated later at 10:00PM. Here is the complete schedule:

The original TCM documentary Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood, created by Oscar®-winners John Canemaker and Peggy Stern, features one of the last filmed interviews with Jones. The half-hour documentary also includes clips from Jones’ cartoons, along with vintage photographs and new animation based on drawings Jones made during the interview.

The following is the complete schedule for TCM’s March 24 tribute to Chuck Jones:

8 p.m. CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD (2009) – Premiere
8:30 p.m. “The Night Watchman” (1938)
8:40 p.m, “Prest-O, Change-O” (1939)
8:50 p.m, “Sniffles and the Bookworm” (1939)
9 p.m, “Elmer’s Candid Camera” (1940)
9:10 p.m, “Scent-imental Over You” (1947)
9:20 p.m. “Haredevil Hare” (1948)
9:30 p.m. “Duck Amuck” (1953
9:40 p.m. “One Froggy Evening” (1955)
9:50 p.m. “What’s Opera, Doc?” (1957)
10 p.m. “The Dot and the Line” (1965)
10:15 p.m. “The Bear that Wasn’t” (1967)
10:30 p.m. CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD (2009) – Encore
11 p.m. The Phantom Tollbooth (1969)
12:30 a.m. “The Night Watchman” (1938)
12:40 a.m. “Prest-O, Change-O” (1939)
12:50 a.m. “Sniffles and the Bookworm” (1939)
1 a.m. “Elmer’s Candid Camera” (1940)
1:10 a.m. “Scent-imental Over You” (1947)
1:20 a.m. “Haredevil Hare” (1948)
1:30 a.m. “Duck Amuck” (1953)
1:40 a.m. “One Froggy Evening” (1955)
1:50 a.m. “What’s Opera, Doc? ” (1957)
2 a.m. “The Dot and the Line” (1965)
2:15 a.m. “The Bear that Wasn’t” (1967)
2:30 a.m. CHUCK JONES: MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD (2009) – Encore
3 a.m. The Phantom Tollbooth (1969)

Tiny Lister is the Guest Programmer for May. He picked Angel and the Badman, Shane, The Professionals, and It Happened One Night.

Has anyone mentioned the series of Morris Engel/Ruth Orkin films (and accompanying documentaries on each) starting, I think, right now. I think they're playing each film twice, running into the night. I haven't seen any of their stuff, so I'm DVR'ing all of it.

TCM screwed up the middle Engel/Orkin film, Lovers and Lollipops. They showed an anamorphic print that had not been expanded (aka Scrunch-o-Vision).

Very disappointing, since TCM is usually very good about getting aspect ratios right.

Hmm. Is there a preferable DVD version available, or is this about as good as it gets for now?

It's available in a nice little set from Kino, along with the Little Fugitive and Weddings & Babies.

an interesting Criterion triple feature tonight...King of Kings -> My Life as a Dog -> Spirit of the Beehive

Has anyone else noticed how they seem to do this once or twice a month...randomly on some night there will be two or three Janus films back to back starting at 3am or something. Very strange...and no rhyme nor reason to what they show. But it does seem like many titles announced by Criterion are shown within a month or so of their release (before or after).

HistoryProf wrote:an interesting Criterion triple feature tonight...King of Kings -> My Life as a Dog -> Spirit of the Beehive

Has anyone else noticed how they seem to do this once or twice a month...randomly on some night there will be two or three Janus films back to back starting at 3am or something. Very strange...and no rhyme nor reason to what they show. But it does seem like many titles announced by Criterion are shown within a month or so of their release (before or after).

What a treat, with the exception of King of Kings (a typical DeMille snorefest)! Hadn't seen My Life As A Dog since it's theatrical release a million years ago, and I'd never seen Spirit Of The Beehive. Maybe there's a programmer at Turner who purposely schedules Janus films sequentially like this...too bad there's no officially designated night once a month, so we can see if it's going to be worth buying whatever Criterion/Janus discs shown.

It'd be cool if TCM had a Criterion night, or something akin to that. Once a month, someone from the company comes in and talks to one of the programmers about a title that's been released in the collection.

Long time reader, first time poster (be gentle ).

I think the reason Criterion movies on TCM aren't heavily publicized is because the company still wants to sell the DVD's. Publicizing new-to-Criterion releases on TCM could diminish the perceived value on viewers' mind to actually buy the discs of what they're watching for free. Bought "Spirit of the Beehive" last year, loved it and passed the disc along to my mother (along with "Cria Cuervos," another Ana Torrent masterpiece). I watched "Beehive" again on TCM and it was great since (a) I no longer have the disc (though Criterion did get my money from a purchase) and (b) felt like watching it again. Loved "Life As A Dog" but it's not a movie I'd come back to repeatedly or watch regularly, so the TCM airing was great. Wanted to buy "King of Kings" for a while but never had quite enough money or the will to commit to paying full price for it. Haven't seen it yet but just saw De Mille's "Ten Commandments" (1956) on DVD so I'm in the mood for a silent Bible epic. Thank God, if he/she/it exists, for DVR so I can keep recording whatever TCM airs Sunday nights from midnight 'till 6AM.

The way I see it, airing Janus Films movies on TV (TCM, IFC and Ovation are the only cable channels I'm aware of that show them semi-regularly) shouldn't affect sales of the DVDs because educated film lovers that want a particular movie will gravitate toward it on their own. If anything viewers that find a particular movie/director to their liking from watching these movies on TV could be pushed into becoming Criterion DVD buyers. I've seen Janus flicks on TV that don't interest me, but (a) I mostly liked and/or understood why they were held in high regard which (b) increased my appreciation and esteem for Janus/Criterion as a brand. After I saw Kurosawa's "Ikiru" on TV (TCM or IFC, not sure which) I ran to buy the 2-disc DVD the next day; not so with either "Rashomon" or "Throne of Blood" (both on IFC; didn't hate the flicks but they just were not my type) but being exposed to more of Kurosawa's work recently led me to blind-buy the Criterion "The Lower Depths" and "Ran" DVD's. IFC showed "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse" a few months back. The next day the Criterion "M" and "Mabuse" discs were mine. After TCM aired Ozu's "There Was A Father" last Father's Day I got Criterion's "Floating Weeds" 2-Disc set. Recently TCM aired Ozu's "Tokyo Story" and it blew me away; now anything Ozu (early/late Ozu Eclipse, "Late Spring," etc.) is in my must-buy radar.

So keep airing Janus Films after-hours TCM. I'll be DVR'ing them and, if I like what I see, Criterion will get my money.

dad1153 wrote:If anything viewers that find a particular movie/director to their liking from watching these movies on TV could be pushed into becoming Criterion DVD buyers.

That's how it's always worked in my case.

Polybius wrote:

dad1153 wrote:If anything viewers that find a particular movie/director to their liking from watching these movies on TV could be pushed into becoming Criterion DVD buyers.

That's how it's always worked in my case.

I'd much rather see it on TCM or IFC before buying...not that I haven't blind purchased Criterion discs before, but usually they were from directors whose work I was already familiar with (Fritz Lang, Tavernier, David Lean, etc.). There will always be people who will watch something on TV rather than buy it on DVD, but I think more use the screening to avoid blind buying something they may not care for. Having a once-a-month Criterion/Janus night would be a great marketing opportunity for Criterion and Turner Broadcasting, I think.